As the deliveries of the Airbus A380 dwindle to nothing (and some of the earlier examples being turned into keychains), All Nippon Airways of Japan has taken delivery of their final Airbus A380 – the orange seat turtle.
The third sea turtle – or Flying Hanou will serve the Japan to Honolulu market (like the other two sea turtles do).
Here it is arriving at its new home.
歓迎の舞#フライングホヌ pic.twitter.com/mMhxd8MxSB
— 航空旅行ニュース (@kokuryokounews) October 16, 2021
ANA configure their A380 in a four-class configuration.
The upper deck holds 8 First Class, 56 Business Class, and 73 Premium Economy seats, whilst the main deck has 383 Economy Class, with ANA COUCHii economy bed seats available at the back of the main deck
Recently, All Nippon Airways (ANA) announced it was to introduce Mixed Fleet Flying (MFF) for the A380 and A320 families, following approval by Japan’s Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB).
The Japanese carrier is the first operator in the world to introduce the MFF between the two types.
Mixed Fleet Flying with Airbus enables pilots to be certified to operate more than one type from the Airbus fly-by-wire product line on a regular and concurrent basis. At ANA this will enable crews to fly a mixed pattern of short and long haul services.
Stéphane Ginoux, Head of North Asia region for Airbus and President of Airbus Japan said:
“We are pleased that A320 and A380 MFF operations were approved by JCAB and that ANA has become the world’s first airline to introduce it ,” said
“MFF offers airlines increased flexibility and cost-efficiency and has become one of the keys to Airbus’ success. For airlines, the increase in revenue hours flown by pilots due to less standby and downtime results in a significant improvement in productivity.”
The A380 fleet is waking up worldwide
As ANA takes its final A380, the worldwide A380 is starting to stir from its COVID-induced slumber, with Emirates leading the charge. On top of that, British Airways, Singapore Airlines and Qatar Airways are taking steps to reactivate the type.
The A380 has been a tough sell for airlines, especially in these times where retiring the type is preferable due to the costs of operation – and the fact there aren’t the passengers to soak them up.
However, with the world opening up – there may still be a place for the double-decker jet in the world.
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